Porsche Design yesterday a black version of its luxury P’9981 smartphone. Specifications-wise, it is identical to the original P’9981 launched over a year ago. The all-black model is made of a stainless steel frame encased in black plastic with a hand-wrapped leather backing. Like the original, it comes with a customized version of BlackBerry OS 7.1 with Porsche Design icons and the Porsche font. It also includes a premium BBM PIN to help identify other P’9981 users.

“Since the beginning, our brand has been identified with the colour black,” said Juergen Gessler, CEO of the Porsche Design Group. “Our first product was a completely black watch. It was a revolutionary product and was a sensation all over the world. As is typical of Porsche Design, the colour black had a functional significance. The “Chronograph I” was inspired by the non-reflective design of racing car controls, with everything in matte black apart from the instruments. The aim was to ensure a clear and easy-to-read display. The Porsche Design P’9981 Black follows this tradition.”

As a quick reminder, the Porsche Design P’9981 is powered by a 1.2GHz processor, the aforementioned BlackBerry OS 7.1, a 2.8-inch VGA capacitive touchscreen, a QWERTY keyboard, 8GB of onboard storage, a microSD card slot with included 16GB card and a 5MP rear camera.

The P’9981 Black may not be for everyone but if it’s the smartphone you have been waiting for, it will be available starting in mid-January through Porsche Design stores worldwide and online. In Canada, it will be available at Porsche Design Toronto in Yorkville for CA$2,050.